Sweltering, Smoky Fires in Siberia

A large number of intense fires have spread across far eastern Russia this spring, shrouding the skies, roads, and forests in smoke. In just six days between May 7–13, 2018 , Russian firefighters beat back 693 fires in 40 territories. Many of the fires were located in the Amur Oblast region in Siberia. Crews are still working to extinguish fires in the area. These images of blazes in Amur Oblast were captured by Landsat 8 on May 7, 2018. Natural-color data (bands 4–3–2) are overlaid with infrared data (bands 6 and 5) to reveal still-burning hot spots. A dry, warm winter has set the stage for a difficult wildfire season in 2018 in Russia. Forest fires are common in this heavily forested region, and the season usually starts in April or May. Farmers in this area also burn old crops to help clear fields and replenish the soil with nutrients; such fires occasionally burn out o...